McNeese clinches Southland tourney spot with DH sweep over UCA

CONWAY, Arkansas – McNeese will defend its Southland Conference Tournament Championship next week in Hammond after it clinched a spot in the eight-team field on Friday after posting a 6-1 win over Central Arkansas in the first game of a double-header.

In the second game, Cooper Hext was the hero when his first home run of the season snapped a 5-5 tie and led to a Cowboys 6-5 win and a Friday sweep.

McNeese is now 28-27 on the year and 21-17 in league play, but more importantly, has 64 points in the standings tying it with Southeastern Louisiana and Northwestern State for third place. UCA (22-28, 17-22) has 51 points and needs help to make the tournament.

The Cowboys, who have won six of their last seven outings, will go for the series win on Saturday with Ty Abraham on the mound for the 1 p.m. start.

In the opening game, McNeese starting pitcher Will Dion (8-4) picked up his fourth straight win in as many outings after allowing just one run on five hits with nine strike outs and no walks. He retired 15 of the last 18 batters faced after surrendering a first inning run set up by a one-out triple.

McNeese tied things in the fifth inning when Payton Harden scored off a Nate Fisbeck grounder, then in the sixth, the Cowboys plated three runs to go up 4-1.

Jack Dickerson, who recorded a 2 for 4 game at the plate, started off the inning with a single then advanced to second base on a Bear wild pitch. Following a UCA pitching change, Peyton Johnson laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Dickerson to third. Julian Gonzales reached after being hit by a pitch and Reid Bourque gave the Cowboys a 2-1 lead with a RBI single to left field to score Dickerson.

With runners on first and third, Brett Whelton set down a safety squeeze bunt to score Gonzales, making it 3-1, while Bourque advanced to second. Harden followed with a walk and Clayton Rasbeary was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Fisbeck recorded a hurtful RBI by getting hit to allow Bourque to score the third run of the inning and putting McNeese up 4-1.

The Cowboys added two more scores in the seventh off a Bourque RBI sac fly and a second safety squeeze of the game by Whelton.

McNeese appeared in control in the second game with starter Jonathan Ellison throwing six solid innings and giving up one unearned run one five hits with three strike outs and two walks and leaving the game with the Cowboys up 4-1, but the Bears took advantage of the McNeese bullpen and tied the game up 4-4 after a bases loaded triple by AJ Mendolia with one out in the bottom of the seventh.

A pitching change to replace Isaac Duplechain with Cameron Foster followed and the Bears took a 5-4 lead on Rylan Meek’s sacrifice fly to score Mendolia.

Nate Collins led off the top of the eighth for the Cowboys with a pinch-hit double and with Hext entering to run, he scored on a throwing error by the pitcher to tie things 5-5 while Gonzales advanced to second.

Bourque moved Gonzales up a bag with a sacrifice bunt but would be left stranded at third to end the frame.

The game would go into extra innings and Hext would come up big in the process with a one out, solo home run, his first of the season, to put the Cowboys up 6-5.

Foster shut the door in the bottom of the 10th, leaving the tying run stranded on third base, to record his first win of the season to put his record at 1-3.

Tré Obregon had the hot stick, going 3 for 5 with two RBI. Fisbeck added a 2 for 4 game.